Student Debt In Our Society
If you’re like me, you’re an Eagle Scout. You’ve been trained in the dos and do nots of the outdoors. You have experience and skill in a variety of subjects ranging from first aid to campsite set up. These skills were refined to the point of being able to teach and lead younger scouts who were setting themselves on that same path. You might have even been able to turn those skills into outdoor education jobs in three different states. You’ve taken seriously the principle of being prepared.
If you’re like me, you have a degree in Philosophy and History. You’ve exercised critical thinking and research skills. You’ve read works of revered thinkers and read the tales of the worlds they were thinking about. You have studied cultures and societies far removed from yourself in both time and space. Rare is the day that passes without you referencing some tome that those around have not heard of. For you, arguing is little more than an emotional distraction from the intellectual art of forming an argument.
If you’re like me, you have a graduate degree in Teaching. You have practiced and polished your ability to communicate ideas of varying complexities to audiences just as variable. You have worked with classes from those just beginning their intellectual adventure to those who have been adventuring longer than you’ve been alive. You’ve had experience conveying the messages of history, philosophy, reading, math, music, and a handful of other subjects. You know the difficulty in conveying information, and the joy when it is done successfully.
If you’re like me, you’re a trumpet playing thespian. You’re a state speaker and coach of state speakers. You’re a fledgling writer who recently found a love for spreadsheets. You’ve taught at the college level for over five years, worked in after-school programs during that same time, and found both gigs to be surprisingly similar. You drove for an entire day to the 2nd darkest sky in the country to teach stargazing for a week. You’re a well-read runner who once sang “Piano Man” to a “working girl” in Thailand.
If you’re like me, for the past seven years, part-time and seasonal work is all you have been able to obtain. If it weren’t for some stern words from your wife, (and a comment from the doctor,) you’d still be working 16-hour days at 3 part-time jobs because that’s what was required to pay your student loans. Seven years down, probably that much left to go, (if you’re lucky.)
Student loan debt and different ways of addressing it have been making the news lately. Elizabeth Warren in particular has used a debt cancellation plan as one of her many policy outlines as she continues her campaign for the presidency. Expect to hear the other candidates outlining their own plans to deal with student debt as the debates and primaries get underway.
I don’t know if Warren’s plan is the right way to go. I’m not an economist. I do know that the gap between student debt and wages has been widening by leaps and bounds in recent decades. As a result, folks my age aren’t buying homes, cars, or investing in the ways that were possible in the past. They don’t have the financial security. It’s not snowflake whining or laziness, it’s serious issue, hindering an entire generation of the country.
What that means is that, if you’re like me, you can’t contribute to society as you’d like because you’re too busy trying to pay for the education and experience that you accumulated so that you could contribute to society.
